Christmas Ale

Planning on picking up the ingredients after work today, getting my starter going tonight and brewing on Sunday. Any critique/issues?

4 Gallon batch

Fermentables
Dark LME - #3.3
Dark DME - #3.0
Buckwheat Honey - #2.0
Chocolate Malt - #.25
Crystal 80 - #.25
Black Patent - #.25

Hops:
Northern Brewer Plugs - 2 oz. 60 Mins
Cascade Plugs - 1 oz. 5 Mins.

Yeast
Irish Ale Yeast

Spices:
1 Oz Ginger Root - 30 Mins
3 Cinnamon Sticks - 30 Mins
2 Whole Nutmegs - 30 Mins
6 Whole Cloves - 30 Mins
3 Oranges Peeled and Quartered - Steeped for 30 mins after boil.

Any thoughts?

Personally I would go with light extract and add the grains you want. That way you get more control over what goes into your beer. Just with the steeping grains you have now you should get a nice deep brown color even with ligh extract.

Have you used buckwheat honey before? I have never used it in brewing, but it the flavor is pretty potent.

Are you grinding the whole spices up? I would back down on the spices (particuarly the nutmeg) and add them at the end of the boil (or even in the primary fermenter or as a spice tea). The less heat and fermentation the spices are exposed to the fresher their character will be.

Hope that helps.